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Or lay-on-the-couch-and-watch-TV-all-day fuel. Or Tofurky-coma-hangover-need-energy-to-tolerate-family-I-only-see-this-time-of-year fuel. Whatevs. It works in any scenario.

While you worry about the food for today, let me worry about the food for tomorrow. Use some of the leftover elements of Thanksgiving that will be lurking in your fridge, destined to mold (ah, we all have such good intentions, don’t we?), and turn them into a hearty, delicious post-Thanksgiving breakfast. Creamy yet chewy steel cut oats join forces with that last little scrap of pumpkin puree, some spices and maple syrup to make an ultimate breakfast. And with leftover cranberries on top? Ooh yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout.

In a pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the oats and lower the temperature to a simmer. Let cook until oats absorb most of the water, about 15 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree, maple syrup and spices and mix well. Let cook until oatmeal is bubbly and cooked to desired consistency.

Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and some cranberry sauce, if using.

There are plenty of good things to be thankful for this time of year- an awesome husband, good fur kids (even if we do mostly refer to them as “the jerks), a great new job, my health- but what I truly appreciate and am humbled by my husband’s family.

I know that the holidays can bring out the worst in families when it comes to being veg. Jokes about turkey and ham, constant harassment about what you eat, what you don’t eat and open judgment are things that many people have to contend with on top of whatever other family baggage you may carry around. Oy.

I am thankful that my husband’s family was happy to eat a vegan Thanksgiving dinner and was fine letting me take charge and cook a large majority of it- as I was happy doing so and hauling it the 3 hours north to Seattle.

Our centerpiece this year was a chickpea/white wine/ herb/ caramelized onion tart.

Jim gets mad at me because I have this bad tendency of making things up as I go along, which was the case with this. I had an idea of what I wanted, but no recipe, and just kind of threw it all together and hoped for the best. I know it will catch up with me some day, but for now as long as the outcome is tasty, I will dismiss the potential fears and keep playing.

My sister-in-law’s awesome cranberries. If you think “Meh, a cranberry is a cranberry” you haven’t had these babies.

Cremini mushroom gravy.

Roasted yam/onion/bell pepper dish courtesy of my S-i-L. Nom.

Stuffing. Made from a mix because I’m lazy like that and honestly like it better that way. Jazzed up with onions and celery. Can’t remember what brand… one of the organic ones.

Browned “butter”, sage and butternut squash quinoa.

“Better-than Breadsticks” from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes.

Mashed ‘taters.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheezecake. My ganache cracked, which made me sad, but it was really good.

“Cinn-ful Apple Cake” from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes, served with leftover cranberries for OMG goodness.

“No pumpkin pie?” you ask? Hey, don’t be such a skeptic! For as much as I love every other incarnation of pumpkin, we’re not big pumpkin pie people in our family, so I decided to forgo it for other yummy delights. I assure you, despite this suspect expression, there were no complaints.